For The Love Of A Friend
by XxSasuNaruLovexX
Summary: Sakura is tired of seeing Naruto in so much pain over Sasuke, so she decides that after all these years the only thing to save Naruto from self-destruction is to destroy the only thing keeping him from reaching his dreams. SasuNaru. Hints of NaruSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Sakura watched her best friend retch in the toilet, he just got over another anxiety attack. Naruto wiped his mouth and walked back out to the living room, Sakura was waiting with a hot cup of tea. "Thanks." Naruto whispered and took a sip. "Naruto…" she whispered and he put his hand up. "Please Sakura, not now…" he wept. She sighed and looked her best friend up and down. He was skinny, pale, and lifeless.

Naruto soon after fell asleep on the couch. Sakura covered him up, kissed him on the forehead, and shut the door behind her. There wasn't much left for her to do. This was an everyday thing that was draining her since the day it all began.

Sakura stepped into her home, getting greeted by her cat. She filled her bowl up with food and went up to the shower. She stripped herself down and let the hot water bounce off of her pale skin. She thought about Naruto. She had been trying to sleep with him for months, but he just didn't seem to take notice to her advances. She and Lee would occasionally mess around, but she wanted Naruto, but he was still hung up on Sasuke. Day in and day out. She turned off the water and wrapped herself in her towel. She got into her night clothes and lied in bed. She couldn't sleep, so she called Ino.

"Hey girl, did you just get home?" Ino asked.  
"Yeah, Naruto had another panic attack tonight, so I was with him for a while." Sakura said.  
"Did he give it up yet?" Ino giggled.  
"Hell no girl, he's too hung up on Sasuke." Sakura laughed.  
"Maybe he's gay." Ino laughed.  
"Yeah right okay." She laughed.  
"Girl, you need a night out, let's go drinking tomorrow night, on me." Ino said.  
"But what about Naruto?" Sakura asked.  
Ino sighed. "Sakura, one night isn't going to hurt, I'm sure Tsunade will check on him. If only you could get rid of Sasuke, there wouldn't be a problem." Ino stated.  
Then it hit Sakura, if Sasuke was out of the picture, Naruto would be all hers, she was going to ask Tsunade for a favor. "Look girl, we haven't had any missions since this place got rebuilt from the ground up, enjoy it while you still can." Ino said. "I will." Sakura smiled.

/~***~\\\\\

Naruto awoke from another bad nightmare. He felt like he was hungover, his head pounded. He was going to get sick again. This wouldn't be the first night he slept on the bathroom floor. He slipped his jacket off and lied down on the cold floor. He stared at his freshly scarred arms and asked himself if this pain would ever stop. He pressed his palms firmly against his eyes in some attempt to stop the tears from coming, but inevitably they would. Naruto punched the wall next to him and started crying hysterically. Naruto thought back to his last encounter with Sasuke, he couldn't get the last words he said to him out of his head. "Why do you even try, dobe? I can't count how many times you've come after me and failed!" the words Sasuke said echoed through his head. "Why _do _I try? I know, I'm gonna fall down. The more I chase, the more depressed I get. But I can't stop…I…just…" Naruto dug his nails into his arms, in some attempt to hold in all the emotions he knew he no longer could. He became frantic, he flung the door to his medicine cabinet open. It was clear of anything, Tsunade took it all, his razorblade was gone, everything that he could use to escape was gone. He gripped his head between his hands and screamed. He flipped the loose tile on the bathroom floor and found his hidden razorblade. The happiness he felt when he found it scared him, but Sasuke's voice still echoed in his thoughts. He raised the blade to his wrist and he cut. He lie on the bathroom floor, gazing at the blood flowing out of his body. It was the only thing that reminded him that he was still alive. He vision became blurry and he passed out.

Outside the bathroom window, perched in a tree, sat Sasuke Uchiha.

/~***~\\\\\

Sakura sat at the bar with Ino. "To you, for being an awesome friend." Ino said and raised her shot glass. Sakura smiled and raised her glass, they clanked together, and they drank. "Thanks for convincing me to come out tonight. Naruto actually insisted when I told him. Tsunade probably would've made me go anyway." Sakura laughed. "See, you're stressing yourself too much over Naruto." Ino said. "Only if you knew how he's been lately, you would understand." Sakura got sad. "Hey, hey, stop. Look, it's just one night, Tsunade is with him, he will be alright. Let's have some fun! I invited Hinata and Tenten along, they should be here soon." Ino smiled. "You know how to cheer me up, thank you!" Sakura said and hugged her.

Soon after, Hinata and Tenten showed up and they started dancing together and doing shots. This club was the only lively place left in the village after the destruction. Sakura was having a great night for the first time in a really long time. "To my girls!" she yelled and they took another shot. By now, they were drunk and they stumbled out of the club. "That was so much fun!" Sakura laughed. And amongst the chatter, her phone started the ring. "Oh hold on a minute." She said and flipped open her phone. "Hello?"  
"Sakura, it's Tsunade."  
"Oh hey, is Naruto alright?"  
"That's why I called, we're going to the hospital."  
"Wait, what?!"  
The chatter between the girls abruptly stopped and they gathered around Sakura.  
"He told me he had to go to the bathroom and he didn't come out. He was bleeding out when I broke down the door. He's going to make it…" Tsunade was holding back tears.  
"Oh God, no….NO!" Sakura broke down on the sidewalk and closed her phone.  
"Sakura, what happened?!" Ino asked.  
"He tried to kill himself…" she cried.

They all ran to the hospital. Hinata and Tenten sat and held Sakura, holding back tears herself. Ino paced the halls waiting for Tsunade to come out of the operating room. "I had no idea…it was this bad." Ino said, tears threatening to fall. Tsunade walked out of the operating room. "He'll be in his room in a few minutes, Sakura, you can see him then." She said, tears still fresh on her cheeks. The minutes seemed like hours, but when Sakura saw Naruto through the glass, she couldn't go inside. Naruto's eyes were drawn to his wrist, freshly bandaged. He looked up to see Sakura through the glass, she broke down again, she couldn't handle that look in his eyes. Naruto's eyes screamed, "Why did you save me?"


	2. Chapter 2

"I shouldn't have left him alone…" Sakura cried. "Sweetie, you can't blame yourself." Ino said, handing her a cup of coffee, she was up all night at the hospital. Tsunade walked down the hall, "Naruto wants to see you." She smiled softly. "I don't know if I can right now…" Sakura cried. "You need to talk to him." Tenten said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sakura sighed and walked down the hall.

Sakura didn't glance at Naruto until she sat down next to his bed. Her hand was shaking as she placed it on top of Naruto's. Her tear glossed green eyes stared into his blue ones. "Naruto…why?" she whispered. "Sakura…" he said. "I knew you were unhappy, but you really want to kill yourself?! What would I do without you?! What would this village do without you?!" Sakura yelled. Naruto started crying. "I love you Naruto…" she whispered. "I'm sorry…" Naruto cried.

Outside the window, once again, Sasuke Uchiha sat.

/~***~\\\\\

Sakura sat in Tsunade's office, listening to the clock tick, and avoiding Tsunade's stare. "I need you to help me kill Sasuke." Sakura said. "I had a feeling that's what you wanted to talk to me about." Tsunade said. "Naruto tried to kill himself last night…he's going crazy over this, Sasuke needs to go." Sakura said. "But don't you think Naruto will just kill himself if Sasuke dies?" Tsunade asked. "We will keep him safe with constant surveillance and counseling." Sakura smiled. There was silence for a long time. "Maybe Naruto will heal over time…I will assemble a team, I'm sure it won't be hard to find people, especially after this." Tsunade said with sad eyes. It was settled, they were going to kill Sasuke Uchiha.

/~***~\\\\\

It had been a week since Naruto's suicide attempt, Sakura was sitting at his house, making them some hot tea. She sat across from him at the kitchen table. She poured the boiling water over the teabag and pushed the cup in his direction. He looked up at her. Sakura's heart broke every time she looked into his eyes. Desperation, pain, and tiredness lingered in his irises. She popped open his pill bottle and handed him his medication. He just looked at it, with disgust. He took it, popped it in his mouth, took a sip of tea and swallowed. "Thank you…" Sakura whispered. "Yeah." Naruto said with anger. Naruto didn't even talk to her the same anymore. Sakura just stood up and walked away, crying. Naruto slammed his chair against the counter as he stood up. He flung the tea cup across the room, shattering it.

He took a few deep breaths and looked at the mess he had made, this wasn't him. He knelt down to clean up his mess. "Don't…I got it." Sakura smiled, sniffling a little. Naruto watched her, then without thinking, he grabbed her face and kissed her. Sakura froze, she just looked at him. Naruto stood up shakily. He pushed his hair out his face and just walked away without looking at her. Sakura broke down in the puddle of tea and broken glass on the floor and cried.

"Why the fuck did I do that?!" Naruto screamed at his bathroom mirror. He had no escape. His floor was now wooden, his medicine cabinet was locked, and he had no hiding spaces that weren't inspected every day. He felt like a prisoner. He spit his medication out in the trashcan, he hadn't taken a single pill since he left the hospital. He looked in the mirror at a person he didn't recognize, and for the first time, Naruto noticed the toll everything had taken on him. He was pale, his hair had no life to it, he was skinny, and his eyes had dark circles beneath them. He turned on the shower, as hot as it could be and he stepped in. He cried until the water turned ice cold. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in his towel. He walked out of the bathroom, Sakura was just now cleaning up the mess he made. He walked faster to his room. He slipped on a white t-shirt and a pair of orange boxers and crawled under the covers. He needed to sleep.

A few hours went by and Sakura was still numb. She sipped slowly at her chamomile tea. Her hands were still shaking. She didn't know what possessed Naruto to kiss her, she as well he knew that it was bullshit. He truly was going crazy. She walked down the hall and opened Naruto's door. He was softly snoring, she smiled. She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room. "It's okay, I forgive you…" she whispered and shut the door.

/~***~\\\\\

A few hours went by and Naruto awoke with a start. He looked up and Sasuke was sitting in his window sill. "There is just a dream…" Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. "Naruto." Sasuke whispered. "THIS IS JUST A DREAM!" Naruto yelled. Naruto looked up and Sasuke was sitting on his bed. "I'm afraid not." Sasuke said, smirking. "Just do it…kill me…please." Naruto cried. "Shhhh." Sasuke said, placing a finger to his lips. "We are going to go somewhere and talk." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded, he wasn't dreaming. He blinked and he was in the field where Team 7 became one. Sasuke sat across from him. "I have to be dreaming…" Naruto whispered, shut his eyes tight, and reopened them, but Sasuke was still there. "Naruto…" Sasuke said again. "WHAT?!" Naruto screamed. "Be quiet." Sasuke snapped. There was silence for a while. Naruto lifted a shaky hand to Sasuke's face. "You…you're actually here." He said. Sasuke nodded slowly. Naruto flung his arms around Sasuke. Naruto was shocked when Sasuke held him closer. Naruto cried into Sasuke's chest for what seemed like forever. "Naruto…please stop crying, I'm tired of seeing you cry." He whispered. Naruto looked at him. "How can you be tired of it? This is the first time you've seen me cry!" Naruto said. Sasuke was silent. "I've been watching you for a while now…" Sasuke said. "And you haven't said anything?!" Naruto yelled, pushing back against Sasuke's chest. "I was waiting for the right time." He said. "I tried to commit suicide last week!" Naruto yelled. "Why do you think I finally showed myself?" Sasuke asked. Naruto went silent. "I've been dying inside because of you…" Naruto cried. "I know." Sasuke said. There was more silence, each of them trying to figure out what to say. "Naruto, I have to tell you something." Sasuke said. Naruto looked at him. "Sakura is planning a mission…to kill me." Sasuke said. "No…she wouldn't…" Naruto said. Sasuke just nodded. "Why should I trust you?" Naruto asked. "I'm not saying you should, I'm just telling you what I know." Sasuke said, standing up. "You ready to go home?" he asked. "No…" Naruto cried. Sasuke picked him up off the ground. "We can meet in secret like this, every night, but you can't give any hints that I'm around. I came back for you." Sasuke said. Naruto would do anything for Sasuke, he just needed to be with him. "I promise." Naruto whispered.

Sasuke took Naruto back home and sat on his bed with him. The moon was shining through the window, Sasuke looked down at Naruto's arms, marred with years of self-abuse. He traced the scars with his fingertips, sending chills up Naruto's spine. Sasuke looked up and smiled at him softly. He cupped Naruto's cheek with his hand and kissed him on the other cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." Sasuke smiled. "Okay…" Naruto whispered. Sasuke walked towards the window. "Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke looked back at him. "I love you." Naruto whispered. "I love you too." Sasuke said and left. Naruto lied down and for the first time in a very long time, he smiled.


End file.
